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Senate
Pasay City
Journal
SESSION NO. 36
Tuesday, November 10,2015
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
THIRD REGULAR SESSION
SESSION NO, 36
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
CALL TO ORDER
At 3:36 p.m., the Senate President,lIon. franklin
M. Drilon, called the session to order.
PRAYER
Sen. Paolo Denigno "Dam" Aquino IV led the
prayer, to wit:
Let us put ourselves in the presence
of the Lord.
As we approach the end of yet another
year and the beginning of the campaign
season, we prepare ourselves for the controversies and challenges that are sure to
burden us.
May we usc our innate Filipino magnanimity, positivity and humor to overcome the
often-paralyzing cynicism so we may continue to move forward and achieve our
common goal- building a Philippines that
gives each one an opportunity to live a
healthy, comfortable, and happy life.
Let us pray one of Pope Francis'
favorite prayers by St. Thomas More, the
patron saint of statesmen and politicians:
SUSPENSION OF SESSION
With the pemlission of the Body, the session
was suspended.
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3:38 p.m.
RESUMPTION OF SESSION
At 3:39 p.m., the session was resumed.
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ROLL CALL
Upon direction of the Chair. the Secretary of
the Senate. Atty. Oscar G. Yabes. called the roll,
to which the following senators responded:
Angara. S.
Aquino, P. D. IV D.
Ilinay, M. L. N. S.
Defensor Santiago, M.
Drilon. F. M.
Ejercito, J. V. G.
Enrile, J. P.
Escudero, F. J. G.
Guingona III, T. L.
I1onasan. G. Il.
Lapid, M. L. M.
Pimentel III, A. K.
Recto, R. G.
Sotto III. V. C.
Villar, C. A.
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Following thai month, May 2014, the first
petition against the [DCA was tiled in the
Supreme Court and some of those distinguished
petitioners are here present in addition to having
been present during the committee hearing a few
months ago. That was the first petition.
The second petition against [DCA was
tiled virtually on the same date in the Supreme
Court. I have a summary of the [DCA petitions
filed in the Supreme Court.
In November 2014, oral arguments took
place in the Supreme Court between the
petitioners and respondents. I have a summary
of the Solicitor General's arguments.
Last December 2014, as chair of the
Committee on Foreign Relations, I chaired an
inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the [DCA in
response to news reports that certain Supreme
Court justices wished to know the position of
the Senate on [DCA. Some of our senators were
there: Senators Angara, Marcos and Cayetano.
There were a number of distinguished
resource persons who were present. I believe
some of them are with us. Unfortunately, I have
not been able to identify them correctly but I
have since sent a letter to all my fellow senators
to sign a draft "Sense of the Senate" resolution
on [DCA as coauthor.
From January to June, we circulated the
resolution and asked the senators one by one if
they wanted to sign the resolution as coauthor.
Most of the senators asked for time to study the
resolution.
In June this year, I filed this draft resolution
entitled "Resolution Expressing the Strong Sense
of the Senate That Any treaty Ratified by the
President of the Philippines Should De
Concurred in by the Senate, Otherwise the
Treaty necomes Valid and Ineffective."
I sent a copy of my letter, together with the
draft resolution, to the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court. This was in response to news
items in the media that the Supreme Court
justices had been expressing the thought among
themselves on what the Senate feels about the
legality of the proposed [DCA agreement
between the two countries - the Philippines and
the United States.
So, in effect, therefore, even unomcially, we
have already furnished the Supreme Court with,
more or less, an intimation of how the senators
fcel about this draft resolution.
And now, I am afraid I will have to go into
aring
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SaliKanK
Balas,
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without the concurrence of the Senate. That
such a prohibited "treaty" has been concluded
by the Executive Department 8S an executive
agreement testifies to its inherently prohibitory
nature under the Constitution, by reason of
EDCA's substantive provisions dealing with the
establishment, location, stationing of the United
States military forces and storage of military
facilities in Philippine territory.
While the prohibitory nature of the
constitutional mandate is inescapably clear,
the Executive Department in what I can possibly
call to wash it orr from the fundamental law in
avoidance of legal conse-quences which should
include the Civil Code, Article 5, which reads:
Acts executed against the provisions of mandatory or prohibitory laws
shall be void, except when the law itself
authorizes their validity.
Perhaps the saving clause of this provision
may call for the application of Senate
concurrence to u save" the troubled executive
agreement. nut how docs this agreement survive
the demand of Article 7 of the same Code in the
following terms:
Administrative or executive acts,
orders and regulations shall be valid
only when they are not contrary to the
laws of the Constitution.
Kayo dapal lamong itanong nalin sa
ambassador ng Ameri/w kapag nangumllsla
/oyo sa kan(l'o. Paano nalin maipaf!.Potufoy
ilong EDCA no maliwanang naman sa aling
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There being no committee or individual amendment, upon motion of Senator Angara, there being no
objection, the Body closed the period of amendments.
ADOPTION OF PROPOSED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO, 1414
Senator Angara moved for the adoption of Proposed Senate Resolution No. 1414, subject to style.
/11 favor
Angara
ninay
Defensor Santiago
Ejercito
Escudero
Guingona
Lapid
Legarda
Marcos
Osmena
Pimentel
Poe
Recto
Villar
Agaillst
Trillanes
She said that the Philippine Constitution recognizes the tripartite nature of government and acknowledges that the government is a government of
democracy and that there arc three branches that
arc coequal with each other. She said that it is
not a good attitude to eon cede that it is only the
Supreme Court that has the sole power to resolve
the constitutional issues.
Senator Trillanes said that he submits to the
wisdom of the Body.
TERI\1INATION OF TilE PERIOD
OF INTERPELLATIONS
There being no further interpellation, upon motion
of Senator Angara. there being no objection, the Body
closed the period of interpellations and proceeded to
the period of amendments.
Abstentioll
Drilon
Enrile
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538
because he believed that the resolution was unnecessary, as it was merely a reiteration of Section 21,
Article VII of the Philippine Constitution.
COMl\lITTEE MEl\mERSIIIP
Upon motion of Senator Angara. there being no
objection, Senator Guingona was elected member of
the Committee on Public Services in lieu of Senator
Legarda.
SPECIAL ORDER
Upon motion of Senator Angara, there being no
objcction, the Dody approvcd the transfer of
Committee Report No. 287 on Senate nill No. 2999
from the Calendar for Ordinary Dusiness to the
Calendar for Special Orders.
COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 287
ON SENATE IIILL NO. 2999
Upon motion of Senator Angara, there being no
objection, the Dody considered, on Second Reading,
Senate Dill No. 2999 (Committee Report No. 287),
entitled
AN ACT MANDATING THE INSTALLATION OF SPEED LIMITERS AND
SETTING SPEED LIMITS FOR
PUBLIC UTILITY DUSES AND FOR
OTlIER PURPOSES.
Pursuant to Scction 67, Rule XXIII of the
Rules of the Senate, with the permission of the Body,
upon motion of Senator Angara. only the title of
the bill was read without prejudice to the insertion
of its full text into the Record of the Senate.
Thereupon, the Chair recognized Senator Ejercito.
sponsor of the measure.
SPONSORSIIIP SPEECH
OF SENATOR EJERCITO
Senator Ejercito, on behalf of the Committee on
Public Services, submitted for plenary consideration
Senate nill No. 2999 under Committee Report
No. 287, also known as the Speed Limiter Dill, which
he believed advances the right of commuters toward
a safer road and safer means of public transport.
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MANIFESTATION
OF SENATOR CAYETANO (P)
Senator Cayetano (P) manifested that as a
coauthor of Proposed Senate Resolution No. 1414,
she would like to have her vote recorded as in favor
of the resolution.
RULING OF TilE CIIAIR
Senate President Drilon referred the manifestations of Senators Aquino and Cayetano (P) to the
Replace the text of Section I with the following: TITLE. TIllS ACT SIIALL BE KNOWN
AS TI IE SEC BACOLOD OFFICE LA W.
2.
Replace the text of Section 2 with the following: CREATION. TIIERE SI IALL BE ESTABL1SIIED A SECURITIES AND EXCI lANGE
COMMISSION IN BACOLOD CITY.
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3.
4.
5.
POSITIONrrtTLE
SALARY
GRADE
26
SEC EXECUTIVE
ASSISTANT
13
SEC CLERKIMESSENGER
10
SEC UTILITY/DRIVER
SECURITIES LEGAL
COUNSEL II
19
SECURITIES SPECIALIST II
18
SECURITIES SPECIALIST I
17
SEC RECORDS
SPECIALIST II
13
SEC SUPPORTI
CLERICAL I
10
SEC COMPUTER
OPERATOR
7.
6.
- TilE
9.
a.
EEFECTIVITY
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FURTIIER AMENDMENT
OF SENATOR OSMENA
AS MODIFIED ny TilE CIIAIR
Senator Os men a proposed that on line II, the
phrase "the Official Ga:elle or in two (2) national
newspapers" be deleted and replaced with the
following: TillS ACT SIIALL TAKE EFFECT
FIFTEEN (IS) DAYS AFTER ITS PUDLICATION
IN A NEWSPAPER OF GENERAL CIRCULATION
IN TilE PIIILlPPINES.
SUSPENSION OF SESSION
With the permission of the Dody, the Chair
suspended the session.
SUSPENSION OF CONSIIlERATION
OF 1I0USE llILL NO, 2360
Upon motion of Senator Angara, there being no
objection, the Dody suspended consideration of the bill.
COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 264
ON SENATE IlILL NO, 2968
(Colltillllal iOIl)
Upon motion of Senator Angara, there being no
objection, the Dody resumed consideration, on Second
Reading, of Senate Dill No. 2968 (Committee Report
No. 264), entitled
AN ACT MODERNIZING TIlE CUSTOMS
AND TARIFF ADMINISTRATION.
RESUMPTION OF SESSION
At 4:42 p.m., the session was resumed.
As proposed by the Chair and accepted by
Senator Osmena, there being no objection, the Dody
approved the rewording of the Effectivity Clause, as
follows: TillS ACT SIIALL TAKE EFFECT
FIFTEEN (15) DAYS AFTER ITS PUDLICATION
IN TWO (2) NEWSPAPERS OF GENERAL
CIRCULATION IN TIlE PIllLlPPINES.
SUSPENSION OF CONSIIlERATION
OF SENATE llILL NO, 2968
ADJOURNMENT OF SESSION
Upon motion of Senator Angara, there being no
objection, the Chair declarcd the session adjourned
until three o'clock in the afternoon of the following day.
II was 4:44 p.m.
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